2013 year in sports - Georgia Bulldogs

Sports

The 13 moments that defined the Georgia Bulldogs in 2013, according to AJC's Chip Towers.

KCP best in SEC. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope managed to earn SEC player of the year honors despite playing for a Georgia basketball team that failed even to earn a postseason berth. The 6-foot-6 wing player finished second in the SEC in scoring at 18.5 points per game, but also was ranked among the league’s leaders in nine statistical categories, including rebounds, steals and free-throwing shooting. He solidified his MVP status with an incredible 32-point scoring effort in a first-round loss to LSU in the SEC tournament. Three months later Detroit made Caldwell-Pope the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft.

Change in baseball program. In one of the most difficult and controversial decisions of his tenure as Georgia’s athletic director, Greg McGarity this past summer dismissed baseball coach David Perno and replaced him two weeks later with Kent State coach Scott Stricklin. Stricklin, a former Georgia Tech assistant, went to five NCAA tournaments and one College World Series as coach of the Golden Flashes. Meanwhile, a former Bulldog himself, Perno was let go despite leading UGA to three CWS berths in 12 seasons. However, the Bulldogs (21-32, 7-20) and failed to make a regional in the last three of the last four years.

Todd Gurley TD vs. Clemson. One of Georgia’s best plays of the football season became one of the worst of the season in one fell swoop. Tailback Todd Gurley busted loose on a 75-yard touchdown run on the Bulldogs’ second possession of the opening game against Clemson on Aug. 31. But Gurley pulled a quadriceps muscle in the midst of the scoring the jaunt, then star receiver Malcolm Mitchell was lost to a season-ending knee injury when the two plays jumped together in an end zone celebration. It was an ominous sign of the coming season for the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs, who lost the game 38-35.

South Carolina streak stopped. The Bulldogs had lost three in a row to South Carolina before breaking the losing streak with a dramatic 41-30 victory on Sept. 7. Georgia secured the “W” with a goal-line stand after the Gamecocks had first-and-goal at the 1, followed by an offensive drive that consumed the final 8:28 of the clock. Quarterback Aaron Murray passed for 309 yards and 4 TDs and Gurley finished with 132 yards rushing.

Murray outshines Mettenberger in QB showdown. Two former teammates and roommates did battle in a clash of top 10 teams as Georgia came from behind to defeat No. 6 LSU 44-41 in a shootout for the ages. LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, who was in a tight competition with Murray for the starting job at Georgia four years earlier before getting dismissed by the Bulldogs, led the Tigers on a 75-yard scoring drive with a little over four minutes to play. But Murray answered by quickly leading Georgia on a 75-yard scoring jaunt of its own, and the Bulldogs’ brittle defense made it stand up. Gurley was lost early in the second quarter to an ankle injury.

Costly victory at Tennessee. Georgia earned a hard-fought road victory over Tennessee, edging the Vols 34-31 in overtime. But it proved extremely costly. The Bulldogs lost tailback Keith Marshall and wide receivers Justin Scott-Wesley and Michael Bennett to knee injuries in the game. Meanwhile, kicker Marshall Morgan kicked a 56-yard field goal early and a 42-yard game-winner in overtime. What appeared to be a seven-yard TD run by Tennessee’s Pig Howard to open OT was overruled by video review as the replay showed he fumbled for crossing the plan of the goal line.

Shocking loss at Vanderbilt. A lot of factors conspired to make it a four-loss season for the football team, but no game had a more profound effect on the Bulldogs’ destiny than the 31-27 loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 19. It took a perfect storm of mishaps for Georgia to lose in Nashville for the first time in 22 years – a muffed punt, giving up a fake field goal for a touchdown, three turnovers and two targeting penalties. The Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter with a 27-14 lead.

Winning debut for Hutson Mason. When Murray went down in Game 11, the torch got passed to quarterback Hutson Mason 2½ games earlier than expected. The redshirt junior from Marietta got his first career start on the road against archrival Georgia Tech on Nov. 30. It didn’t look early on as Mason was shaky and the Bulldogs fell behind 20-0. But Mason led UGA on a scoring drive 34 seconds before halftime and eventually forced the game into overtime. There Gurley took over with all 50 yards of offense as the Bulldogs forged a 41-34 victory in two overtimes.

Swimming national championship. Allison Schmitt won the 200-meter freestyle and the Georgia won two other relay events as the Lady Dogs captured their fifth national championship in women’s swimming. Coach Jack Bauerle was named NCAA coach of the year and Schmitt won the Honda Award for swimming and was named Athlete of the Year for all sports by the SEC.

Immaculate deflection at Auburn. Georgia’s Nov. 16 trip to Auburn went from one of its worst games, to one of its greatest comebacks to one of its most crushing losses of all times. The Bulldogs trailed by 20 with 12:39 to play before Murray led them to three consecutive fourth-quarter touchdowns. Murray’s five-yard TD run – which stood up after video review – gave Georgia a 38-37 lead with 1:49 to play. But on fourth-and-18, former Bulldog Nick Marshall completed a 73-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Louis for the winning score with 25 seconds remaining. Making it worse, the completion was made possible only after UGA’s Josh Harvey-Clemons deflected the off-target pass up in the air trying to intercept the ball rather than knocking it to the ground.

Murray goes down on Senior Night. In a totally unfitting end to a phenomenal career, Murray was unable to finish the final game of his career in Sanford Stadium. After being honored along with 27 other out-going seniors in pregame ceremonies, Murray was sensational in the first half, throwing for 183 yards and four touchdowns rushing for 31 yards. But he tore an ACL at the end of a 28-yard run and had to be carried off the field with two minutes remaining. His career ended then and there as the SEC’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,166), TD passes (121), completions (921) and total offense (921). He became the eighth offensive skill player to miss significant playing time due to injury.

Three in a row over Florida. The Bulldogs nearly blew a 23-3 lead but held on for a 23-20 victory and record their victory in a row over Florida for the first time in 30 years. Gurley returned to action after missing the previous four games with an ankle injury and scored two first-quarter touchdowns, including a 73-yard pass reception. But Gurley got sick and sat out most of the first half before rebounding in the second. A fumble by Arthur Lynch set up the Florida comeback.

SEC dominance in tennis. Georgia’s men’s and women’s tennis programs continued their dominance of the SEC. Coach Jeff Wallace’s Lady Dogs captured shared of the regular-season title, their 15th overall. Meanwhile, coach Manuel Diaz’s men’s team won both the regular and tournament titles. For Diaz it was his 22nd SEC title in 25 seasons, the school’s 35th overall title and the program's 27th regular-season crown - the most of any SEC school.

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KCP best in SEC. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope managed to earn SEC player of the year honors despite playing for a Georgia basketball team that failed even to earn a postseason berth. The 6-foot-6 wing player finished second in the SEC in scoring at 18.5 points per game, but also was ranked among the league’s leaders in nine statistical categories, including rebounds, steals and free-throwing shooting. He solidified his MVP status with an incredible 32-point scoring effort in a first-round loss to LSU in the SEC tournament. Three months later Detroit made Caldwell-Pope the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft.

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